Even though the book recounts the gossipy behavior of Britney, Lindsay, and co., The Mirror Effect isn’t a light read. It’s a penetrating assessment of a culture gone awry, and some of the text appears as if it was stripped straight out of an academic journal. Still, it’s written with substance and just enough style for laymen and educators alike. Behavioral researchers will find plenty to mull over here, and those titillated by the book’s gossip quotient will stick around to see the cultural x-rays.

Pinsky isn’t a player in the culture wars, eschewing ideology and party labels, but his latest book could change that. His writing details the troubles associated with shoddy parenting, sexualized behavior, and loose morals, but it doesn’t do so from a spiritual or even a moral perspective. Pinsky uses research to show what can go wrong with teens who model their behavior after famous narcissists such as Paris Hilton and her ilk, although he quickly skips over the criticism aimed at his Celebrity Rehab program.

It’s easy to thumb through The Mirror Effect and wonder if the authors shouldn’t lighten up. What harm can be done watching some reality television? Vulnerable populations are always at risk to outside influences, be it the shady friend next door, the R-rated movie that could give them nightmares, or bad ideas on how to behave around others. A child who grows up with two good parents and some healthy self-esteem will likely brush off whatever effects tabloid TV have on them, right?

15 Comments, 15 Threads

1.
NahnCee

How will the 16 children of OctoMom ever manage to grow up “normal”? Doesn’t the state have a responsibility to step in *now* and take them away from this Queen of Narcissism before they’re irremediably folded, spindled and mutilated?

The problem is that it is reality, news or television. An R-rated movie is still, at some level, a fantasy. The shady friend next door can be held up as a bad example. The bad ideas can be answered. But this is presented as the way The Better People Are. This is what the Privileged People do. (Whether this is what got them the privilege or how they risk losing it is never asked.) All of this seems like a fairy-tale life compared to the daily grind, compared to the effort of learning the countries of Europe, or the history of the 19th century, or how to diagram a sentence (I know, none of these are taught any more), or how to do long division, or, perish the though, how to integrate by partial fractions.

Kids who look to stars should sit quietly for a few hours while an aspiring musician practices, alone or in a band. They should watch aspiring dancers stretch and practice, watch athletes exercise for hours on end. They should understand that you get these things by hard work, even if you are very good, and very lucky. And they should get some idea of what the odds are.

Maybe there’s something to be said for making kids practice music for an hour a day, or at least do homework appropriate to their grade level. ( (Grade level + 1) x seven minutes seems a good rough number.)

I’m All For It
————–
I used to take a “moral” stand against so many of the things that Christian Toto & Pinsky discuss. But a long time ago, I stopped doing so. Instead, I’m all for debauchery, illegal immigration, the drug “culture”, “marriage out of wedlock”, pornography at your finger-tips, you name it that’s questionable, I’m for it.

Why? I’ll tellya why.

The more “disfunctional” members of our society, particuarly those under 30 become, the better I look.

For example, on several occasions, I’ve had to “compete” with a much younger person for a job. I always got the job because I knew how to present myself for that particular interview and my “competitor” didn’t have a clue. It wasn’t really a competition at all.

Have pity on a “homeless” person, a “single-mother” a young man paying alimony, a drug addict, a bulemic/anorexic, an alcoholic, an illegal immigrant and so on? Not a chance.

Instead, whenever the opportunity arises, I let them know in no uncertain terms the contempt I feel for them and the revulsion they cause me to feel. I don’t care if you were “abused” as a child – you probably deserved it, is what I think. And anyway, that was 40 years ago….you still haven’t gotten over it? Give me a break.

Pinsky says: “Their emotional development stalls in their teens, leaving them susceptible to the flood of narcissistic content heading their way.”

I say, good. I was a teen once too. Not for a moment did I take any of this stuff seriously. If a contemporary teen today is dumb enough to swallow all the
pap our culture “throws” at him, from an “essential” “face-book” account, a cell phone, a “college education” and so on, then let him swallow it. It makes him/her look like a dope and it makes me look exemplary.

Dr. Drew makes money from exploiting has-beens on “Celebrity Rehab” and “Soberhouse”. Now he is castigating the rest of us for watching such drivel. He may have some good points in his book, but he is so hypocritical.

Anonymity is one of the principles of 12 step programs which he requires his patients to attend. Meanwhile, he does the exact opposite in order to make a buck.

Sentinel: and you have the nerve to call THEM narcissists! 30 years from now, THEY’LL be the ones doing the hiring for the job, all your generational compatriots having died off, and they won’t have any sympathy for you because you’re not like what they think “normal” people should be.

Wacky Hermit, you said a mouthful. People will shy away from you for being “different” because the “don’t know what to expect” if you’re responsible, comported (“detached”) and not a selfish, loudmouth basket case like them. Majority sets what’s “normal” and beats on anything that isn’t. (To protect against the tyranny of the majority is part of why we have a written constitution that was set up the way it was… something liberal judicial activists and other “living constitution” types forget.)

1. Mark Steyn, the cultural observer and critic, has characterized Britney Spears as “the singing slattern”. Now, if you point this out to a “teen”, she won’t have any idea who Mark Steyn is or what a “slattern” is, although she’ll know all about B. Speaers.

Explaining all this to a teen or better, to an “adult” who thinks he is still a teen (and worse – acts like one), is a task I thoroughly enjoy. It usually shuts them up – fast.

2. To # 5 (Wacky Hermit):

I’m a “he”. I can assure you that 30 years from now, “they” won’t be doing any hiring. They’ll be on “disability” (most likely from over-eating) (Yes – did you know you can go on “disability” for being obese from over-eating??) or they’ll be on their 3d marriage or in foreclosure, or maxed out on their credit cards, etc.

Me and my friends (yes,there are others like me), sometimes drive up and down city streets and mock and jeer at the panoply of losers that make up our population. If I weren’t so self-controlled, I’d take a basket of rotten tomatoes and eggs and do a lot of hurling. I’ ve also done this at college campuses and so on. (I always do have a quick get-away just in case).

3. To # 8 (supercars):

Can you repeat what you said? Your sentence makes no sense at all. (Are you still in grade school?)

SENTINEL, I am delighted to hear the culture wars are still being waged by you and your friends. I guess.

I have sympathy for people who have had a rough start in life, whether their parents did too much for them or to them. The great thing is, s/he does not have to stay there. A steady diet of tabloid celebrity news or MSM won’t help young people find a better way. njcommuter offered a good suggestion and reading Mark Steyn is seldom a bad way to go either.

I am rooting for all Americans to contribute more and be better off than they are today. Mental health is an important component and I think Dr. Pinsky’s goal is to reach more people, through the “stories” of celebrities.

SENTINEL, I suspect you really care about the place where you work. As you rise through the ranks, there may be some used-to-be-losers that you can help be more successful. Since it is so clear to you what attributes are holding them back, are you willing to design an employee orientation or screening program that lays out expectations? Are you willing to be part of the solution?

I don’t know what’s worse, really, Britney or the “Goodbye Girl,” Hillary, trying to convince the Iraqis we’ll not abandon them. Excuse me, wasn’t Obama’s presidential campaign predicated on abandonment? It seems that most of the middle east and old and new Europe have drawn that appropriate conclusion. It’s now the great scramble to sort out the new “post American” reality where America is no longer the role model for the world, much less enforcing a “new world order.” Why should we worry about the Taliban getting Pakistani nukes when the Chinese seem satisfied with Kim the barbarian, bearing nukes on their border? Speaking of defunct role models, no wonder Nancy Pelosi is enjoying situational amnesia over those dark days of “torture” when, in her own version of a heart of darkness, she approved enhanced interrogations of unlawful combatants whose only anticipated date with justice were military tribunals and firing squads, until the Supreme Court changed the rules of game. Pip pip and and a hoe hoe, on with the congressional show trials, big sister is watching. I can’t wait to see those sanctimonious democrats squirm while shilling global warming to raise carbon taxes.

I would also love to add when you do not already have an insurance policy or perhaps you do not belong to any group insurance, you could possibly well take advantage of seeking the aid of a health insurance professional. Self-employed or people having medical conditions commonly seek the help of the health insurance specialist. Thanks for your text.